Planning for a respray - what's involved?

[ian010778 21]

Hi folks,

I'm looking to get a sense of the work I need to do in preparation for the respray. I understand that some of these questions will be best answered by the bodyshop that I choose to go with but before I approach anyone it would be really useful to get a consensus here from people who have experience of having their 205 resprayed please.

At present the engine, gearbox and most of the interior are out of the car but the front subframe, rear beam, brake components, doors, windows, tailgate, fuel tank and lines, and bonnet are all in place. I will be removing all of these parts in due course anyway along with the sunroof and all exterior trim. There is significant blooming on the roof and bonnet so they will need to be taken back to bare metal. I have a few dings in the front wings and doors, there is a hole in the boot floor where rust has eaten through and there is rust on the front of the rear wheel arches. The driver’s side door has dropped and needs re-aligning, the checkstrap isn’t working on the passenger side door, and the tailgate has play in the hinges/latch.

 

I have no intention of attempting any welding or rust repair myself. I am planning to contract one bodyshop to fix the dings, rust and do the respray in one go.

On my shopping/to do list I have a pair of checkstrap mechanisms and a set of front door hinge pins and although I am expecting my bodyshop to want to do the final prep’ I am planning to do the majority of the paint removal myself to provide a rough prep’.

The main question is “in what order should I attempt this work please?” This whole thing is starting to get on my pip  as I can’t see the logical steps and where I need to concentrate my efforts now the weather’s getting better.

 

My thoughts are.

1.    Do I have to have the full weight of the car in situ and the car on its wheels to align the doors? If so, I can’t do the hinges and checkstraps until after the respray – will this be an issue?
2.    If I can do the door/alignment work at any time am I best to do this now, before removing anything else (while the car’s on its wheels) and starting and further removal/my rough prep’?
3.    Or, should I remove the subframe, rear beam and other stuff first and do my rough prep’ and alignment work with the shell on a dolly and/or stands?
4.    Is it likely that the bodyshop will want the tailgate, bonnet and doors off the car? If so, this answers some of my other questions regarding the order in which I do the alignment stuff as I’ll just strip it all down and send everything that needs to be red to the bodyshop (including new hinge pins, checkstraps etc.)
5.    Is the bodyshop’s their preferred approach to painting (one piece or separate pieces) any indicator of how good a shop they are?
6.    I have to take the roof and bonnet back to bare metal – does this mean I should at least take all exterior surfaces back this far? I think so as I don’t want my fresh paint to be adhered to old paint in some places and on fresh metal in others as I think this will be asking for inconsistency woes in the future.

7.    Paint removal will take me a while – how do I stop surface rust forming on the first sections while I work on the rest of the car or does it not matter if a bit of surface rust develops assuming the bodyshop will do the final prep’ before priming and painting?
8.    Is there a preferred approach to removing the old paint? I quite like the look of chemical strippers as it seems as though I’m less likely to damage the surface of the metal than with a power sanding tool or blasting. However I don’t really want remove the front wings so I’m concerned I might get stripper somewhere I can’t access to rinse/neutralise it (inside a front wing) and end up creating an issue.
9.    If I end up supplying the car to the bodyshop in pieces, how hard is it to refit doors, the tailgate, bonnet etc. without scratching or lifting any of my new paint when pushing hinge pins into place?

 

 

Ian.

[Tom Fenton 1,524]

Ask your bodyshops about the paint specific bits. To be honest, even though you are hoping to save money, prep by you will probably actually cost you more in the long run as the bodyshop gets it to their standard. You are better off doing the strip down and leaving it at that. Taking it to bare metal is not required in most cases.

 

Door pins, you will probably find that the hinge posts on the car are worn and need drilling out and oversize pins fitting to suit. The doors bolt to the hinges anyway.

[ian010778 21]

Thanks Tom, I've been a bit paranoid about the bodywork as it's such a critical part of the restoration.

 

4 hours ago, Tom Fenton said:

Door pins, you will probably find that the hinge posts on the car are worn and need drilling out and oversize pins fitting to suit. The doors bolt to the hinges anyway.

 

Do you think it's worth me doing the hinge posts before the bodyshop get their hands on it or should I just wait and see what they say about how they need the shell to be delivered?

[welshpug 1,621]

I'd certainly try to address them prior to stripdown and painting since as Tom said they are likely to be quite worn and need drilling out for oversized pins, you don't want to be waving drills and hammers about fresh paint.

 

to get a decent finish I'd imagine most painters will want any easily removed panels to be off, however you can always leave that to them as its not a difficult job at all if you have removed everything else.

 

 

[Telf 222 2 Cars]

my advice would be think carefully about your budget!

 

You need to get a contract for the cost prior to the work. my experience hasn't been great- you will find many hidden costs along the way so make sure you have the means to pay for it all -  stuff gets broken or lost during strip or is just tatty and needs replacement. once you replace one bit where do you stop? fitting new components on to old only causes premature wear- I've ended up replacing about 70% of my car, new suspension, drive shafts, rear beam, hubs, calipers, discs,fuel pump etc etc. clips and trim will cost you a lot to replace, its at a premium and you will pay a lot for even simple metal clips( as an example the brake hose clips cost me around £40)

 

Toms advice is true- you wont be able to prep to the shop standard and will end up paying twice-let them do it. I think the best you can do is strip it in terms of its parts as far to a bear shell as possible. Label everything and take many pictures.

 

good luck

[Andy 105 1 Cars]

Having been down this route at least three times over the years, I agree with Paul and others. Do as much stripping down as possible , but make sure the shell is easy to move ( either a very good dolly or on its wheels ) . Fix the door hinges before paint , as the pins can be very difficult to remove if you are unlucky . Replacement ones are cheap and easy to get hold of, but be prepared to fit oversize ones if necessary .Your job is to make it as easy as possible for the staff at your chosen bodyshop  to do theirs . 

Andy

[ian010778 21]

Thanks all, feeling a lot better about the next stages thanks to all the replies here.

 

Ian

[Richie-Van-GTi 70 2 Cars]

Strip it to a rolling shell, Then get quotes. Don't get quotes while it is built up, you will be disappointed when it gets stripped as the price will go up.  it is basically guaranteed you will find 'extra' work when it gets stripped own.

[MrAndy 10]

Sure you know that allready, but everything plastic which you touch will get broken.

 

You will replace a lot more parts that you can think.

 

-A-